The Devil's Origin

11: Book of Monsters.

<<Congratulations! Although the Red Dragon is one of the most difficult monsters to tame, you have successfully made one your subordinate! It is a high-level species, so the benefits are very good.>>

The Red Dragon is only one of the most difficult monsters? What are the others like?

"Devil, staying cooped up here just isn't my style. I'll start tracking down monsters and sending them here, okay?"

Alexius suggested while cheerfully hugging me.

"I'd appreciate that. With all the babies hatching, I don't think it's a good idea for me to leave the castle right now."

Although the range of my [Perception] skill has increased, it still has limits.

"No problem! If you mate with me again, I'll search wherever I can!"

I wonder, did Alexius enjoy mating with me that much? It seems like he won't reject anything I say.

Hey, this level 180 Red Dragon could be a powerful ally, after all!

"No, you don't have to come back anymore."

"Seriously, Velke, jealousy isn't a good look for you."

Velke was itching to blast Alexius with some devastating magic, but after 500 years the difference between their levels was too big.

After finally releasing me, Alexius bid us farewell and flew off into the sky. I decided that I would explore my castle a bit.

It seems that the Devil's Castle grew again after I mated with the powerful Red Dragon. So this is one of the benefits of a monster with a high level!

<<Indeed! Because you have reached level 38, the Devil's Castle has developed three new rooms. When you hit level 30, you also gain the ability to summon the Book of Monsters!>>

What is that, a comic book?

<<It is a complete, illustrated guide to the monsters of this world. It holds all the information you will need to know about every species.>>

Oh, how useful!

I summoned the Book of Monsters. It was enormous and looked positively ancient.

It was also very heavy. I could already feel my arms growing weak, so I took it into one of the new rooms and propped it open on the floor.

● SLIME ●
Population: 75
Habitat: Western Forest, Devil's Castle

● VELLUCLESIS ●

Population: 4
Habitat: Devil's Castle

Each entry went on to list countless more details on each species. More importantly, it seemed that this book could tell how many individuals there were of each species.

But, looking through it, almost all the other pages are empty. What happened? Where's the rest? There's only a table of contents with a list of monsters and their populations.

<<The Book of Monsters can only display entries for monsters the Devil has personally encountered.>>

Well... I guess that makes sense..

But what in the world is this book... Is it some kind of monster, too..?

Hmm? The monster species are listed very clearly, but some of the names have faded to grey.

<<The faded names indicate that the species has gone extinct.>>

There were grey names on every page of the table of contents, making it glaringly obvious how many species were gone.

So, there were this many monsters that have died out.

Even looking at the surviving species, many had dwindled to ten individuals, or five, or less.

I felt a chill seeing the devastating reality of the monster's situation laid out before me.

<<Do not worry! When you reach level 100, you will gain the [Demonic Refinement] skill, which is unique to the Devil!>>

[Demonic Refinement]?

<<The [Demonic Refinement] skill will allow you to create a new monster species, or recreate an extinct monster species, by refining the semen of several existing monster species! However, you must refine the proper combination of existing monster species to successfully use this skill >>

Refining semen?

<<By mating with several different species of monster in succession, [Demonic Refinement] can be used to refine their semen within the Devil's body!>>

Hey, System! You don't have to explain it in such detail!

I paled at the thought of a monster orgy. Mating with monsters was already a painful ordeal. If I were to mate with more than one at a time... I shuddered, just imagining it.

<<The more monsters you mate with, the more combinations for [Demonic Refinement] will be unlocked! Be prepared to mate with many monsters soon!>>

I quietly dismissed the Book of Monsters to escape from reality.

<<By the way, with your improved [Perception] skill, you can sense monsters within a wider range! You can also sense monsters at a higher level than your own!>>

Prompted by the System, I activated the [Perception] skill.

● TENTACLE ● [Level 5]

● RABBITFOLK ● [Level 8]

● LIZARDFOLK ● [Level 25]

● KELPIE ● [Level 31]

● SABER TIGER ● [Level 41]

● NAGA ● [Level 53]

● DRYAD ●  [Level 80]

I detected them all easily.

It's for the sake of the monster population! I'll do my best. Starting tomorrow.